4 Command Syntax

Oracle Linux command syntax appears in monospace font.
The dollar character ($), number sign (#), or percent character
(%) are Oracle Linux command prompts. Do not enter them as part of the
command. The following command syntax conventions are used in this
guide:

Convention

Description

backslash \

A backslash is the Oracle Linux command continuation character.
It is used in command examples that are too long to fit
on a single line. Enter the command as displayed (with a
backslash) or enter it on a single line without a
backslash:

dd if=/dev/rdsk/c0t1d0s6 of=/dev/rst0 bs=10b \
count=10000

braces { }

Braces indicate required items:

.DEFINE {macro1}

brackets [ ]

Brackets indicate optional items:

cvtcrt termname [outfile]

ellipses ...

Ellipses indicate an arbitrary number of similar items:

CHKVAL fieldname value1 value2 ... valueN

italics

Italic type indicates a variable. Substitute a value for
the variable:

library_name

vertical line |

A vertical line indicates a choice within braces or
brackets:

FILE filesize [K|M]

forward slash /

A forward slash is used as an escape character in the
CLI to escape the special characters
", ',
?, \,
/, <,
>: